Kangaroo-Apple

solanum laciniatum

Kangaroo-Apple (Solanum laciniatum) is a striking, fast-growing shrub native to the temperate regions of southeastern Australia and New Zealand. Belonging to the nightshade family (Solanaceae), this resilient plant is famous for its deeply lobed, dark green leaves that resemble the footprint of a kangaroo. During the warmer months, it produces a profusion of beautiful violet-purple flowers with bright yellow centers, which later develop into egg-shaped berries. While these berries are highly toxic when green, they turn a vibrant orange when fully ripe and split open, at which point they historically served as a traditional food source for Indigenous peoples. Kangaroo-Apple acts as a pioneer species, quickly colonizing disturbed soils, forest margins, and coastal areas, providing vital shelter and food for local wildlife while showcasing the incredible adaptability of the Solanaceae family.

Lebensraum: Found in coastal areas, wet forest margins, shrublands, and disturbed sites such as roadsides throughout southeastern Australia and New Zealand.

Aussehen

Kangaroo-Apple is a large, spreading shrub that typically grows 100 to 400 centimeters tall, featuring smooth, purplish-green stems. Its most distinctive feature is its foliage: the lower leaves are large and deeply divided into 3 to 9 lance-shaped lobes, resembling a kangaroo's footprint, while upper leaves may be simpler and unlobed. It bears clusters of star-shaped, five-lobed flowers that are intense violet or blue-purple, measuring about 3 to 5 cm across, with prominent yellow anthers at the center. The fruit is an oval, berry-like drupe, roughly 2 to 3 cm long, transitioning from a smooth green to a bright yellow-orange as it matures.

ReichPlantaeStammTracheophytaKlasseMagnoliopsidaOrdnungSolanalesFamilieSolanaceaeGattungSolanum

Kangaroo-Apple

Kategorie

Pflanzen

Seltenheit

Common

Gefahr

1/5 · Sehr gering

Snaps

Mach den ersten Snap!

Interessante Fakten

Historically, Indigenous Australians used the ripe orange fruits as a food source, but they carefully avoided the green fruits, which are dangerously toxic.

The green, unripe fruits contain high levels of solasodine, a toxic alkaloid used as a base precursor in the manufacture of steroid contraceptives.

The plant's common name comes from the shape of its deeply lobed leaves, which bear a striking resemblance to the three-toed footprint of a kangaroo.

Besondere Fähigkeiten

Quickly establishes in disturbed soils, using fast growth to outcompete other plants for sunlight and nutrients after fires or land clearing.

Produces high concentrations of toxic glycoalkaloids, like solasodine, in its unripe fruits and leaves to deter herbivores from consuming them before the seeds are mature.

Produces hardy seeds that can remain dormant in the soil seed bank for years, waiting for a disturbance event to trigger germination.

Maße und Details

Länge: 100-400 cm
Lebenserwartung: 5-10 Jahre

Ernährung und Fütterung

As a photoautotrophic plant, the Kangaroo-Apple produces its own food through photosynthesis, utilizing sunlight, carbon dioxide, water, and soil nutrients.

Hauptnahrung

Sunlight
Carbon dioxide
Water
Soil minerals

Nahrungssuche

Photosynthesis

Ökologische Zusammenhänge

eaten by

Silvereye

Zosterops lateralis

Feeds on the ripe fruit and disperses the seeds across the landscape.

eaten by

Potato Tuber Moth

Phthorimaea operculella

Feeds on the foliage, occasionally causing leaf damage.

mutualism

Large Earth Bumblebee

Bombus terrestris

Visits the violet flowers for pollen collection, facilitating pollination.

Merkmale

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Auch bekannt als

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Sicherheit

Gefahr

1/5 · Sehr gering

Noch keine besonderen Sicherheitshinweise.

Häufig gestellte Fragen

Wie identifiziert man Kangaroo-Apple?

Der einfachste Weg, Kangaroo-Apple zu bestimmen, ist die Verwendung der Naturführer-App Snappit.

Was ist der/die/das länge von Kangaroo-Apple?

100-400 cm

Was ist der/die/das lebenserwartung von Kangaroo-Apple?

5-10 Jahre

Was frisst Kangaroo-Apple?

As a photoautotrophic plant, the Kangaroo-Apple produces its own food through photosynthesis, utilizing sunlight, carbon dioxide, water, and soil nutrients.

Wo findet man Kangaroo-Apple normalerweise?

Found in coastal areas, wet forest margins, shrublands, and disturbed sites such as roadsides throughout southeastern Australia and New Zealand.

Wie jagt Kangaroo-Apple?

Photosynthesis